Big Momma's' house: Growing the giant pumpkins

One-and-a-half miles east of Lawson's Bison Ranch, Pepper and Jerry Kilgore have been getting a lot of attention.

The couple, who grew four giant pumpkins this year, came in second place at the Ukiah PumpkinFest weigh-in, with a 580-pound giant.

Amazingly, they were first-time growers and entrants. "I got the seed from Howard Dill Seed Company in Vancouver, British Columbia," says Jerry, a long-time dairyman.

"Last year I grew a three-foot long zucchini, took it to the fair and got a blue ribbon. When you start taking vegetables to the fair, you know you're getting old," Jerry laughs.

Something about the Kilgores' soil seems well-suited for growing. "It's the rocky ground. I think Cold Creek swept through here at one time. My rototiller doesn't like it, but the vegetables just thrive," Jerry explains. "We grew 400 ears of corn, tons of tomatoes, carrots, just about everything," says Pepper.

"The Kilgores planted the pumpkin seeds on April 10. "We planted the seeds in the house and kept them inside under a grow light until May 14th. Jerry dug four 8-by-8 holes, 2-and-a-half feet deep. There's lots of gravelly ground and horse manure in the garden," she continues.

"On May 14th, we put the plants in the ground and placed plastic around the outside to harden the plants from the wind. The wind will break them right off. In the middle of June we had about seven pumpkins on each plant. We culled all of those off, selected one good pumpkin off each plant and kept on culling. They were huge right away. They grew about 3-4 inches per day," says Jerry. One pumpkin seemed to take the lead right away, and the Kilgores' christened her "Big Mama."

It wasn't long before the pumpkins were too large for one person to handle. "We had to raise them up and put four layers of cloth underneath them when they were about a couple hundred pounds each. Two of us lifted the pumpkins while Pepper pulled the cloths underneath them," Jerry continues.

Like all the Extreme Pumpkin Farmers, Jerry and Pepper treated their charges like members of the family. "We had to cover them in the summer when it got hot. I'd see their leaves getting a little droopy and go out and water them," Pepper notes. Jerry networked with the stalwart cadre of other giant pumpkin farmers including multiple PumpkinFest champion Mike Brock. Surprisingly, the farmers are happy to share their tips on growing the Atlantic Giants, and Jerry, a newbie, took all the advice he was given and put it to good use.

"I would get up in the middle of the night in my nightgown with a flashlight and a gun," Pepper laughs. "A herd of eight to 10 elk would come up in the middle of the night- a six-pointer with his cows. All we could do was think to ourselves, please don't eat our pumpkins,'" smiles Jerry.

Then the fateful day arrived. It was PumpkinFest. "The night before weigh-in, our friend came down with a tractor. He lifted Big Mama up enough to slide a pallet underneath her. We took Big Mama and another one to Safeway and weighed her in," says Jerry.

"I was in first place all day until the Englands' pulled in with a 700-pounder," Jerry recalls. "Everyone was so nice. It's a special group of people. I was talking to Mike Brock and didn't realize it was him. He was walking around with his suspenders on. That's how we met in person."

"Jerry worked so hard to get them this big. To get second place on his first time out was really special," says Pepper.

"When we brought them home, we got them off the back of the truck. I winched the big one with my Jeep. Then I took a limb saw to open them up and drew pictures with a felt pen, carved them and put lights and lids on them," explains Jerry.

The couple didn't expect the reaction from motorists as they drove past the pumpkins, now prominently displayed on Highway 20. "People would stop, honk and wave. The truck drivers would honk all night. A lot of people took photos. It has been really fun," says Pepper.

The pumpkins, now getting past their prime, will soon be ready for the compost pile. "They were like our children from May to October. Then they became Jack-o-lanterns. Now they're sad. Now they're going to pumpkin heaven. But they'll be back next year," Jerry winks.